Reading Identity in Composition Scholarship: A Content Analysis on Reading

Emily Sok

Advisor: Courtney Adams Wooten, PhD, Department of English

Committee Members: Ellen C. Carillo, Isidore K. Dorpenyo, Heidi Y. Lawrence, Bethany Monea

Horizon Hall, #4225, https://gmu.zoom.us/j/93803131684?pwd=MxYplvjWRWEfPjmrfVlW6KaX7TZ9lu.1
February 20, 2026, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Abstract:

This dissertation employs Street’s (1984) autonomous literacy model and Young’s (1990) theory of structural oppression to analyze portrayals of reading in composition scholarship from 1950–2023 and their implications for instruction. A qualitative content analysis of journal articles and position statements revealed a predominant focus on reading as comprehension and habit, with less attention to affect and choice, which are patterns observed among 11,701 observed coded segments. This analysis produced a heuristic for ‘reading identity’—defined as situated perception and interpretation that are informed by identity. The findings yield three central claims linking scholarly portrayals of reading to oppressive structures. First, depersonalized reading approaches, which minimize affect and choice, align with cultural imperialism by reducing aspects of reading that involve personal resonance and autonomy. Second, comparative ‘good’ reader methods align with marginalization. Third, both approaches are presented as neutral, thereby reproducing academic exploitation through normative labor demands. To challenge these structures, composition must elevate personal and autonomous aspects of reading. In application, the reading identity framework allows students to analyze academic reading, critique conventions, and explore their own margins of maneuverability in the context of reading and identity. For faculty, it supports a flexible pedagogy for instructional planning and expansion. This study addresses a critical gap in composition discourse by detailing what reading has been, what it currently is, and how a reconceptualized reading identity can foster more equitable practice, particularly for students vulnerable to systemic exclusion. A more expansive conception of reading is currently needed in composition and postsecondary disciplinary conversations that extends beyond comprehension and habit alone.